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Monday, January 23, 2017

π

Let's look at the most important question first: does the new Chairman capitalize the "R" in "E-Rate"? Yes! But can he root out the Russian mole at the FCC that has been weakening our country's R? Make the "R" in "E-Rate" great again!

What effect will Commissioner Pai have on the program? At this point, it's mostly speculation, but I can't help myself. It's hard to predict what the Chairman's priorities will be now that he controls the agenda, rather than just reacting to it. Here are some thoughts based on his past statements.

Things I like:

Big picture: the Chairman is not afraid to think outside the box and suggest big changes. That's a little frightening, but I've been frustrated by recent reforms that just nibbled around the edges and tacked on a few new little facets. He also seems to keep the needs of applicants foremost in his mind.

Chairman Pai often deplored the partisanship and lack of collegiality in the FCC. I have to agree. Let's hope he can return the FCC to a less partisan body.

He has said we should simplify the application process. Yes! Some of his proposals (while I didn't agree with all of them) could actually lower the workload on applicants. I hope he really can simplify the process.

In the most recent statement I've found, the Chairman said, "We need to fire up the weed whacker...," but he seemed to be talking about Net Neutrality, not the E-Rate. Still, I don't want anyone using a weed whacker near our little rose garden.

Chairman Pai sure sticks up for rural applicants. When he talked about his budget concerns with modernization proposals, he was very concerned that rural schools were going to lose all their funding, when in fact, non-rural schools would lose funding first. And his E-Rate 2.0 proposal included giving rural applicants twice as much funding per student as non-rural applicants. I think it is true that rural areas are less likely to have the concentration of poverty necessary to reach a 90% discount, which meant the P2 gravy train didn't reach them, but I'm not so sure that rural applicants always need more money that non-rural applicants.

I don't think E-Rate will be at the top of his priority list, so the program should be stable for a year or two. But then, watch out.

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About Me

Involved with the E-Rate program since 1997, On-Tech's president, Dan Riordan, has continuously assisted schools and libraries in obtaining E-Rate funding, first as a trainer, then as a district employee, and now as an E-Rate consultant.